


On A Snowy Evening

by ardentaislinn



Category: When Calls the Heart (TV)
Genre: Blizzards & Snowstorms, Class Differences, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-19
Updated: 2015-12-19
Packaged: 2018-05-07 14:56:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5460536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ardentaislinn/pseuds/ardentaislinn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On a trip home to tell Elizabeth's parents some good news, bad weather forces her and Jack to confront some lingering issues.</p>
            </blockquote>





	On A Snowy Evening

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jannika](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jannika/gifts).



Elizabeth peered through the window of the train, trying to distinguish the countryside through the thick fall of snow. It was only mid-afternoon, but dark clouds had rolled over the sun, blocking out most of the light. 

The train rocked almost violently as it crept forward, and Elizabeth suspected it was more from the buffeting winds than the natural movement of the carriage on the tracks. The locomotive had slowed to a crawling pace a few hours ago, and the snow had only worsened since. 

Feeling the beginnings of nerves creep upon her, Elizabeth glanced across the first-class carriage at Jack. He appeared completely unfazed by the dramatic weather outside. He was leaning back comfortably against the rich red of the seats, his ankle resting on one knee, and a three-day old paper propped casually in his lap. He was dressed in his worn workman’s attire, since he insisted on being comfortable for the journey, which contrasted dramatically with Elizabeth’s beautifully tailored dress and coat. They were travelling first class, after all. 

“Perhaps we should have waited for better weather before attempting to make this trip,” she murmured, keeping her voice steady with some effort. 

Jack glanced up at her, and then after a moment, deliberately folded the paper and tucked it away. He leaned across the aisle and took her hand. 

“We’ll be fine,” he told her with his usual confidence. “Even if we get delayed, we’ll still make it to your parents’ house eventually.” 

“What if we get stranded out here? The train is barely moving as it is.” 

“They’ll probably stop at the nearest town for the night, give the storm a chance to blow over. I’m sure this happens with all January travel.” 

“My parents don’t even know we are coming. They won’t know to look for us, to check things are alright.” 

“Elizabeth,” Jack said, drawing out her name. His lips kicked up in the corner with his usual amusement, and his eyes danced as they often did when he was entertained by her. 

Elizabeth huffed. “I know I’m being ridiculous, but I just feel that maybe we should have waited, after all.” 

“You know why we didn’t wait,” he told her softly. His eyes grew serious. “Unless you _have_ changed your mind? This isn’t cold feet, is it?” 

Elizabeth softened, smiling at Jack as affection for him overwhelmed her for a brief moment. Then, she looked down at her half-boots and wriggled her feet exaggeratedly. 

“Only literally cold feet,” she told him, grinning. She knew she didn’t imagine the relieved look in his eyes. 

His thumb drifted over her hand, eventually settling on the ring currently adorning the fourth finger of her left hand. He rubbed the pad of his thumb over it a few times in a thoughtful gesture, smiling. 

“Well, good. I won’t let go of you that easy. No matter what your father’s reaction is.” 

“I don’t think it will be as bad as you are imagining it.” 

Jack gave her a disbelieving look. 

“Well, he can’t claim it is unexpected!” she said with a laugh. Jack grinned. 

“That’s true. I like to think it was inevitable from the moment we met.” 

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, but a warm swell in her heart told her just how much those words meant to her. 

“If anyone had told us that in the beginning we would one day be here like this, we would have been outraged. Or amused. Depending on our mood.” 

Jack’s smile was wry. “Our earliest interactions did seem to alternate between the two, with very little in between.” 

“And whose fault was that?” she asked him playfully. 

“Yours, of course!” he said with mock-seriousness. 

Elizabeth whacked him playfully on the arm. “Jack!” she said in a scandalised voice. 

“Alright, alright. We both made mistakes. But we got there in the end.” Their gazes locked, and their smiles grew in unison. 

“Yes, we did,” she murmured, leaning over to kiss him. 

Their lips had barely touched when the train shuddered to a halt. 

“What is it?” Elizabeth asked. 

“We must be at the next station,” Jack replied. “We were due there hours ago.” 

Elizabeth looked out the window at the swirling snow. Light from their carriage spilled out of the window, barely penetrating the snowstorm outside. She could just make out the station sign through the haze of white. “I’m not sure I want to go out in that, even for some fresh air.” 

As if summoned purely to contradict her, a train attendant appeared at the door. “Sorry, folks, we’ll be here for the night. There’s no moving through this snow.” 

“Are we expected to stay on the train?” Elizabeth asked. 

The man shook his head. “If you do, the light’s batteries will run out soon enough and you’ll be in the dark. This isn’t a bad-sized town, now. You’ll find a decent room for the night if you want it, since it looks like you’ve got the money to pay.” 

“Can you recommend us a place?” Jack asked. 

The attendant thought for a moment. “For a resectable couple like yourselves, there’s one of them Canada Pacific railway hotels. It’s right across the road there.” He gestured out past the station platform. 

“Thank you for your help.” 

The man gave a short nod before shuffling off to the next carriage. Elizabeth and Jack repacked their essentials and valuables into a single bag, not wanting to drag the rest around with them in the horrible weather. 

The instant they stepped outside, Elizabeth felt chilled to the bone. The wind found its way into every nook and cranny under her coat, and snow stuck to places she wasn’t even sure she could reach. 

They slowly picked their way across the platform, and then the road, gripping each other’s hands all the while. 

The hotel’s huge lobby was a blessed haven of relief when they finally made it inside. Newly furnished and tastefully decorated, Elizabeth was sure she had never been so grateful for a place with the warmth of home. Chandeliers sparkled above her, and life-sized portraits lined the walls. It reminded Elizabeth of many of the houses she had visited in her youth. Further endearing it to her was the peacefulness; it was an oasis of calm and dignity in the middle of that wretched storm. 

“Are you from the train?” a voice said. They spun around to see a man in a crisp clerk’s uniform, standing behind the large desk that dominated the back wall. He was looking at them with all the interest one might give a scuff on perfectly polished marble. 

Elizabeth stepped forward and squared her shoulders, holding her head with all the Thatcher pride she could muster despite her exhaustion from her short trek through the elements. 

“Yes, we’d like two rooms, please,” she said in her most high-society voice. She didn’t think he’d throw them out in these circumstances just because her hair wasn’t up to scratch, but his tone rankled her. 

Then the man’s gaze shifted from her to Jack and back again, all the while managing to convey intense amounts of disdain. 

“Most of our rooms are already taken. Many trains have stopped here today because of the weather. You, madam, may take our last remaining room, though your... _friend..._ will have to sleep in the downstairs quarters with the staff.” 

“My _what_?” she asked, shocked. 

“Elizabeth…” Jack warned. 

“I’ll have you know that this man is my f-” 

“Husband,” Jack broke in. “I’m her husband. So kindly give us the key so we can stop fouling up your lobby.” Jack’s voice vibrated with anger as he held out his hand to the clerk. Elizabeth glanced at him curiously, but felt it was wise not to contradict him. 

The clerk sniffed. “Very well. I’ll need your names.” 

Their luggage disappeared up to their room as they registered. Elizabeth couldn’t help a private thrill as she scratched out her name as Mrs. Elizabeth Thornton for the first time. 

By the time they had made it up to their room, Elizabeth was ready to collapse. She barely noticed the size of the room other than a general impression of grandness, or the expensive furnishings that dotted the space. 

“Who knew that walking so short a distance could prove so tiring?” she asked as she flopped back on the bed. Jack grunted from where he stood by the fire, stripping off his jacket. 

After a moment, Elizabeth forced herself to join him, divesting herself of her coat and boots and holding her hands out to the warm flame. 

“I wonder why that man was so rude. Certainly not the service I would expect from a place like this.” 

Jack huffed, managing to convey a wealth of bitterness at the sound. 

“What?” Elizabeth asked. 

“The fact that you know these places well enough to expect _anything_. It’s exactly the reason he was rude to me, I clearly don’t belong here.” 

Elizabeth put a gentle hand on his arm. “You belong anywhere you want to be.” 

He shrugged, and Elizabeth sensed that he didn’t want to continue the conversation. 

“You told them you were my husband,” Elizabeth said softly, changing the topic. 

“Better to sleep on the floor in here by the fire than down there with the servants. And since that man seemed such a stickler, I didn’t think ‘fiance’ would convince him to let us share.” 

Elizabeth was silent for a moment, pondering that. 

“I’m sorry,” Jack told her. 

“For what?” 

“For being presumptuous. I thought you wouldn’t mind.” He turned, staring down into the fire with a conflicted look on his face. 

“I don’t. It’s not the first time we’ve fallen asleep in the same room, and it certainly won’t be the last.” A blush bloomed on her cheeks as she thought about what that future might entail. She paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts. “It’s just...that wasn’t the only reason, was it?” 

She saw Jack’s shoulders stiffen and knew she was right. 

“I don’t know what you mean,” he said. 

“Yes you do. It bothered you to be called my friend.” 

Jack sighed. “It just reminded me that your father won’t be happy about our engagement. And if... _when_ we do get married, the people in your world won’t like it. This hotel is obviously the kind of place that you feel comfortable in, but I’ll never fit in this world. I’ll never be able to afford a room here. If the hotel _clerk_ is judging me, then what will your family and friends do?” 

Elizabeth looked around the room, seeing it through Jack’s eyes for the first time. She noticed the gilt on the mirror frames, the vases that would cost more than he would make in a year, the elaborate scrollwork on the chairs that was so different to the sturdy, practical furniture of Hope Valley. 

For a brief moment, she felt ashamed - not for her upbringing, but for her lack of thought. Then, she took his hands, still chilled from the cold outside, and looked him in the eye. 

“Jack, my family will have plenty of time to get to know you properly.” He made to interrupt, but Elizabeth shushed him. “We _will_ get married, Jack, whether they like it or not. They’ll have to get used to you eventually. Besides, most of the time we’ll be in Hope Valley, where none of this will matter.” 

“I know all that, I do, but-” 

“Jack, listen. There is no other man I want to marry. If I don’t marry you, I’ll become an old maid and then they won’t get any grandchildren from me. They’ll soon see that accepting you is in their best interests, or they won’t see much of me. It’ll be fine, Jack. Eventually. I promise.” 

“As long as you will be happy with me.” It came out sounding more like a question than a statement. Elizabeth squeezed his hands reassuringly. 

“I wouldn’t have pursued this so hard or for so long if I didn’t think that we would be happy together. I love you. And despite our different upbringings, we suit each other perfectly. My parents can stamp their feet and pout all they want, but it won’t change how I feel.” 

Jack smiled, and she could see the tension ease a little from his shoulders. “I just can’t help but think that while things are so perfect in Hope Valley, everything changes each time we leave.” 

“We’ll find a way to make it work. I’ve learned how to exist in your world, and you aren’t too bad at navigating the world I grew up in, so we can find a happy medium. We’ll still have a lot to learn, about marriage, children...life. It doesn’t have to be perfect right away, as long as we promise to work together.” 

Jack let go of her hand to slip an arm around her waist, drawing her closer. His lips were inches from hers. “Well, I can promise to love you, honour you, and cherish you, until death do us part,” he murmured softly. “Do you think that works?” 

Elizabeth smiled and slipped her hand around his neck. She touched her lips lightly against his. “I do,” she whispered in reply. 


End file.
